Kitchen Makeover

After almost 10 years of living in my house, I thought it was about time to remodel our kitchen. It looked tired and, for sure, dated. 

I followed a few DIY blogs that gave me great ideas and the courage to get into a kitchen renovation. After close inspection, I listed all the projects I wanted to tackle in our kitchen and sent that honey to-do list to the mister.  In my mind, he was the one that needed to tackle all the wooden projects that my kitchen needed.

The painting and decorating was my job, and the mister was in charge of the building. ;)

Ha, how wrong was I!

I kept waiting and waiting, and nope. The man didn't build anything. He could hardly take a measurement. 😩

Well. I call it a blessing in disguise because I got empowered to grab our old electric drill and the few tools we had at that time, and I started this kitchen makeover all on my own.

I had some experience with paint and a few carpentry skills doing other little projects around the house. My thought was: "Sure, I can do it!"

Well, it took a lot of work. But if I have to do it again, I will gladly do it, especially with the gained experience.

This is how the kitchen looked at the end of the major makeover:

THE BEFORE:

The honey oak kitchen that I loved for many years.

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This little kitchen of mine was showing its age!

It was time to improve it, give it a cosmetic makeover, and at the same time, update certain features that I didn't like.

For instance, the kitchen island seemed to be a simple cabinet stacked in the middle of the kitchen with an outlet as its main décor in the center of one of its sides. :/

That space above the cabinets collected so much dust and grime.😖 I had to bring those containers down a few times during the year to wash them. I was getting tired of doing that task.

One important thing I wanted in my new and improved kitchen was a range hood that could get all those cooking fumes outside the house. That recirculating fan had to go!

I also wanted to say goodbye to those honey oak cabinets. The cabinets per se were suitable and sound, but I grew tired of that reddish tone. Oh, and those laminated countertops & appliances had also seen better days. 

I wanted a simple makeover, keeping everything in the same place. But hey, once I started, the projects grew and grew.

The budget went upwards of what I wanted to spend, but in the end, it was a very economical makeover for all the new features that this little kitchen got!

You can check the complete BUDGET POST right HERE.

Let's dive into all the projects done to update this small kitchen!

1. THE KITCHEN ISLAND

The renovation started in the center by beefing up the kitchen island. You can see me there, working on adding moldings to that cabinet.

Well, I first built and installed a shelf on the side of the island to make it bigger.

On the other side of the kitchen island, I installed the microwave. I finally gained back my counter space!

Check the complete details of this KITCHEN ISLAND makeover right HERE.

2. THE REFRIGERATOR ENCLOSURE

The second project I got myself into was building a fridge enclosure. I noticed in other kitchens that when that gigantic appliance is inside a cabinet, for some reason, it looks less massive and gives the entire kitchen a more seamless look.

The first task was to remove that tiny 12"-depth cabinet and replace it with one 24" deep.

There were a few other steps done before that fridge enclosure could look like this:

But you can check all the details on how to BUILD A FRIDGE ENCLOSURE right HERE.

3. HOW TO BUILD A RANGE HOOD

OK, ok, let's hold it here. 

Raise your hand 🙋‍♀️ if you have built and installed a range hood? Especially if that happened circa 2010 when there wasn't a single tutorial online!

This was perhaps the project that gave me the most anxiety of them all. I was a rookie in remodeling a kitchen, and here I was, building and installing a range hood!

I was lucky to find a simple clue/visual, and from then on, I managed to build this range hood that has been in service for the past ten years:

Complete details on HOW TO BUILD A RANGE HOOD are HERE.

4. CLOSING THE SPACE ABOVE THE KITCHEN CABINETS

Closing that space above the cabinets was an easy and very economical project. 

Once done, it looked like this:

Learn how to close that SPACE ABOVE THE CABINETS by clicking right HERE.

5. HOW TO ADD MOLDINGS TO YOUR KITCHEN CABINETS

After closing that empty space above the cabinets, the kitchen didn't look too fancy. 

NOPE. 

It needed something else... MOLDINGS!

I sure gave it plenty! 

Crown molding, panel molding, base cap, screened bead, etc., etc. 

Complete details about How to add MOLDINGS to your kitchen cabinets right HERE.

6. HOW TO PAINT THE KITCHEN CABINETS

The paint was the element that gave this kitchen a cohesive look.

Armed with a paintbrush and a roller, I painted those cabinets.

My kitchen was totally transformed! 😍

All the details on HOW TO PAINT YOUR KITCHEN CABINETS are HERE.

7. INSTALL A BACKSPLASH

Installing a backsplash right after getting the countertops was the cherry on top for this kitchen makeover.

| Pendant Light | Roman Shade - similar | Backsplash |

Learn HOW TO INSTALL A MARBLE BACKSPLASH right HERE.

8. INSTALL MORE LIGHTS

A lighting plan is one of the first steps during any kitchen renovation. Can-lights needed to be installed before closing the space above the cabinets.

After a full year of working in this little space, I could finally say it's DONE!

I LOVE my new kitchen!!

And guess what?

I gained tons of experience by doing it myself! 

Did I get into mistakes?

Yes, many, but nothing that I couldn't fix. ;)

What are you waiting for to start your own kitchen renovation?

UPDATES

A "new" roman shade treatment gave the kitchen a brighter look.

And the addition of a built-in plate rack opened up the space.

However, another mini-makeover was done to brighten up the space even more. 

The kitchen island got a new color, the cabinets were customized some more, the range hood was given a new treatment, and the kitchen stools got a makeover too.

Well, this kitchen keeps on evolving.

:)

Thanks for visiting!

Here again, are all the links:

Updating the Kitchen Island
How to build the Refrigerator Enclosure
How to make the Range Hood
Closing the Space above the Kitchen Cabinets
Adding Moldings to your Kitchen Cabinets
Painting Oak Kitchen Cabinets
Installing the Marble Backsplash
Lighting Plan
Kitchen Cost Breakdown
1 ½ Year Later How the Kitchen is Holding up
Build-in Plate Rack
Roman Shade Update
Pull Out Shelves in Pantry
Breakfast Room
LG Appliances Review and Complain



Some of these projects inspired some of the work on these kitchens:

Kitchen Update at Bear, Molly, and Moi
The Space Between at Fisherman's Wife Furniture

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